Cookies

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click accept my preferences we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on our website. Visit our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy for more information about managing your cookies.

Sign In

Confirm

New year, old problems

04 January 2012

It might be a new year, but the same problems remain for
people with learning disabilities, their families and those who
care for them. And they won't be going away any time soon. When I
was thinking about this first blog of 2012, I decided to go back
and look at what I wrote in my Learning Disability Today
editorial at the turn of 2011. Some things haven't changed. I
focused on how 2010 had been a tough year, with worries over
changing government policy, cuts in funding and the threat of
benefit changes. I also said that the planned government white
paper on the future financing of adult social care would be
crucial. All sounds very familiar. If anything, these worries have
increased in 2011 - and probably will do so again in 2012 - and the
white paper is even more important. Last year, following the
coalition's Vision for Social Care I was quite optimistic about the
prospects for the white paper. But now, I'm afraid, pessimism has
taken over. The government's lukewarm reaction to the Dilnot report
in the summer didn't help. Adult social care has been crying out
for reform for many years. My worry is that the government may fix
the political problem of older people having to sell their houses
to pay for residential care, but other, more fundamental reforms
may not be pursued, among them, the proper funding of social care.
However, there are cross-party talks planned by ministers for
February to tackle this thorniest of problems. Hopefully, these
will be more fruitful than the last time they were attempted in
2010, when they collapsed, just before the last election. It is a
chance that cannot be missed, but I still have a nagging feeling
that economics will be the major driver of change, rather than
improved outcomes for service users. Elsewhere, funding cuts are
really biting hard. There are weekly stories in local
newspapers/websites of day and other similar services being closed
and more anecdotal evidence of care packages being cut for service
users, especially for those with less critical needs. Sadly, the
funding situation is not going to improve in 2012 - or for several
years to come - so these stories, and their effects on people with
learning disabilities and their families, will continue. But,
trying, for at least a moment, to put a positive spin on things,
funding cuts could also provide some real opportunities. As I wrote
last year, there are many individuals and organisations that make a
difference, regardless of funding cuts or government policy (or
lack of it). And, as someone once said, necessity can be the mother
of invention. Constrained finances could drive innovation, as
organisations and learning disability professionals seek to provide
personalised services at lower cost. While 2012 is set to be a
difficult year for many people within the sector, it is important
that good and innovative practice is given the prominence it
deserves. Hopefully that will ensure that best practice is spread
and that the negative effects of cuts will, at least in part, be
mitigated.